Table 2. The hazard ratios (HRs) and their 95% confidence intervals for deaths from stroke, heart disease, cardiovascular disease, malignant tumors, and all causes, based on the level of a sense of purpose in life.

Level of a sense of purpose in life	Men			Women
	Low	High		Low	High
	n = 477	n = 355	P value	n = 504	n = 282	P value
Stroke
Number of deaths	19	4		4	4
Age-adjusted HR	1	0.25 (0.09-0.74)	0.012	1	1.40 (0.35-5.63)	0.640
Multivariate-adjusted HR(1)	1	0.28 (0.10-0.84)	0.023	1	1.09 (0.26-4.62)	0.905
Multivariate-adjusted HR(2)	1	0.28 (0.10-0.84)	0.023	1	1.15 (0.27-4.88)	0.852
Heart disease
Number of deaths	10	8		9	5
Age-adjusted HR	1	0.86 (0.33-2.16)	0.732	1	0.93 (0.31-2.77)	0.889
Multivariate-adjusted HR(1)	1	1.10 (0.43-2.84)	0.844	1	0.98 (0.32-3.02)	0.979
Multivariate-adjusted HR(2)	1	1.09 (0.42-2.81)	0.861	1	1.02 (0.33-3.14)	0.967
Cardiovascular disease
Number of deaths	29	12		13	9
Age-adjusted HR	1	0.47 (0.24-0.92)	0.029	1	1.04 (0.44-2.44)	0.936
Multivariate-adjusted HR(1)	1	0.56 (0.28-1.10)	0.093	1	0.99 (0.40-2.42)	0.980
Multivariate-adjusted HR(2)	1	0.56 (0.28-1.10)	0.093	1	1.04 (0.43-2.53)	0.931
Malignant tumors
Number of deaths	41	32		21	10
Age-adjusted HR	1	0.94 (0.59-1.50)	0.797	1	0.82 (0.39-1.76)	0.613
Multivariate-adjusted HR(1)	1	0.93 (0.58-1.48)	0.754	1	0.85 (0.39-1.84)	0.682
Multivariate-adjusted HR(2)	1	0.93 (0.58-1.48)	0.750	1	0.88 (0.41-1.90)	0.742
All causes
Number of deaths	114	58		54	23
Age-adjusted HR	1	0.59 (0.43-0.82)	0.001	1	0.71 (0.43-1.16)	0.166
Multivariate-adjusted HR(1)	1	0.62 (0.45-0.86)	0.004	1	0.72 (0.44-1.19)	0.201
Multivariate-adjusted HR(2)	1	0.62 (0.45-0.86)	0.004	1	0.74 (0.45-1.22)	0.232

The multivariate-adjusted HR(1) was adjusted for age, history of hypertension, history of diabetes, and smoking habit.

The multivariate-adjusted HR(2) was adjusted for age, history of hypertension, history of diabetes, smoking habit, and perceived stress.